Alabama Department of Archives and History

General Suggestions for Analyzing a Written Document

1. Describe the document. Is this a letter, a will, a bill of sale or some other kind of document?

2. What is the date of the document? Is there more than one date? Why?

3. Who is the author of the document? Is this person of historical significance? Do you believe that the author of this document is credible? Is this document written as a requirement of the author's occupation or is this a personal document?

4. For what audience was this document written?

5. List or underline three (3) points that the author made that you believe are important.

6. Why do you think that the author wrote this document? Use quotes from the document to support your position.

7. List two (2) things from the document that describes life in the United States or in Alabama.

8. Write one (1) question to the author that is unanswered by the document.